Your cynicism may be hurting your brain

A study from researchers at the University of Eastern Finland shows that there may be a link between cynicism and brain health.

This study was published in the journal American Academy of Neurology.

According to Austrian Tribune, those who are less likely to trust others are more likely to develop dementia. Those who have a high level of cynicism like this are two and half times more likely to develop the brain disease.

Researchers divided 1,500 people ages 65 to 79 into groups based on their cynicism.

The study defined cynicism as a person’s belief that others are motivated by selfishness. Researchers discovered a person’s level of cynicism by performing an eight question survey.

They were grouped as highly cynical, moderately cynical and least cynical.

The higher on the cynicism scale, the more likely a person was to smoke or gain weight during the study.

Cynics, according to AP, view their attitudes differently, but they have shown researchers a link between attitude and health.

Researchers eventually want to see if treating someone’s attitude problem can influence the treatments available for dementia.